Organizational Communication

The broad spectrum of human interaction that occurs at, and between, every level or unit within complex organi zations. Simply put, organizational communication entails listening, speaking, questioning, and sharing feedback. The forms in which these acts occur serve to define the nature and effectiveness of a particular organization's communication system. The architecture of organizational communication consists of three general axes: downward, upward, and lateral (or horizontal) communication. Downward communication within an organization may refer to employer-to-employee, supervisor-to-supervisee, or even mentor-to mentee communication and management of individuals' behaviors within the organization. Those in charge may communicate to subordinates through meetings, memos, work orders, instructional manuals, bulletins, performance reviews, and so on. Upward communi cation in these contexts may entail product reports— both written and oral, various performance metrics, log books, data analysis, and more. Horizontal or lateral communication within an organization is likely to take forms such as informal conversation, e-mail and instant messaging, project collaboration, conflict management (this may also be part of downward communication), and more. Organizational communication is often referred to as the “grapevine”—that network of communication acts that serves to transmit information, ideas, feedback, and evaluation both within the organization and outward, from the organization to those outside. For more information, see Miller (2006).